Community Health Improvement

The Community Health Improvement Process (CHIP) brings together many diverse partners to improve the health of our community. They align their efforts and support each other for greater collective impact on the priorities identified through our Community Health Assessment. This process has been shown nationally to increase effectiveness, reduce unnecessary duplication, increase community engagement and awareness, and improve targeted outcomes.

Community Health Assessment Priorities for 2012 - 2015:

For the full 2012 Community Health Assessment and related data, visit our Health Reports Page.

THE COMMUNITY HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PROCESS (CHIP)

The Community Health Improvement Process is driven by two primary groups:

The Public Health Advisory Council

The Council provides leadership, support, and coordination to assist the Workgroups established around each priority. Members are responsible for being advocates for systems, policy and environmental change in the community. The Council members will also serve in an advisory capacity to submit recommendations to the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Board. For the full list of advisory council members, see the Community Health Improvement Plan executive summary.

Workgroups

Workgroups will be composed of representatives from organizations that are currently working on the priority areas, community members, and interested Advisory Council members. Department of Health staff will provide support in convening and facilitating the process for the Workgroups. Representatives from the Workgroups report regularly to the Advisory Council to share actions, emerging issues and recommend policies for consideration.

The first product of their work together is a Community Health Improvement Plan. A CHIP Plan documents a long-term, systematic effort to address identified health problems in a community. This plan is used to set priorities and coordinate and target resources. A CHIP is critical for developing policies and defining actions to target efforts that promote health.

CHIP Contents:

Goals, objectives, strategies & related performance measures

Realistic timelines for achieving goals & objectives

Designation of roles for HHS, hospital and other partners in CHIP implementation